UNIVERSITY of ARIZONA LIBRARY Imprimi Potest

Home , Juan de Padilla

by THE REV. MAYNARD GEIGER 0.F.M., PH.D.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY Imprimi Potest. FR. ILDEPHONSE MOSER, 0.F.M. Minister Provincialis. Dec. 6, 1938.

Nihil Obstat. FR. PATRICK RODDY, O.F.M.

Imprimatur. JOHN J. CANTWELL Archiepiscopus Angelorum. Dec. 13, 1938 The Kingdom of St. Francis

in Arizona (1539-1939)

THE REV. MAYNARD GEIGER, 0.F.M., PH.D.

"We are the ones who are bearing the burden and the heat; We are the ones who are conquering and subduing the land."

FRAY FRANCISCO PAREJA, O.F.M.

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, 1939 Table of Contents Page Foreword . 3 The Coming of Niza . 6 Coronado and the Franciscans March North Ciliate Conquers New Mexico 9 Franciscans Arrive in Southern Arizona . 12 Fray Francisco Garcés 16 Escalante and Dominguez Tread the Great Basin 21 The Franciscans in Maricopa County 21 Franciscans among the Pimas 32 Franciscans among the Papagos 35 Franciscans among the Apaches 43 Franciscans among the Yumas 45 Franciscans among the Navajos 49 Conclusion 55 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 3

Foreword The history of Arizona is inseparably bound up with Fran- ciscanism. The Friars Minor were among her earliest explorers and her saintly evangelizers. The Franciscan Padre is as famil- iar to her history as her towering pines and varied cacti are characteristic of her landscape. The cowled a.nd sandaled friar has left his imprint on her desert 'sand; his silhouette is cast against her blue mountains; his eyes have peered into her dark and erratic arroyos. Varied have been his contributions toward the upbuilding of empire and culture: exploration, geography, topography, ethnology, linguistics, architecture, pedagogy, social service. Yet all these have been but handmaids to his essential purpose: the salvation of souls; whether those souls belonged to a white, red, or colored man, made little difference. It is a far cry from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. One flag followed another; one race supplanted another. Now the Padres carne from the south, then from the east; now from the west and then from the state itself. Once they walked afoot; then they rode horseback; again they went forth by team, and finally they rode forth in an automobile. A few have even dreamt of the aeroplane. Yet always they were on the same spiritual errand. In one era they explored; in another they evangelized; now they sowed, then they reaped. A period of unfruitfulness and bloodshed was followed by a Golden Age which sank again to decay and even oblivion. But always the unfinished work was revived by a zealous and courageous band imbued with the spirit of their predecessors. Today, inspired by the traditions of the pioneer Padres, and energized by the support of an appreciative host of co-workers, they carry on, whether amid the din and throb of the city or out in the soli- tude under the stars; for to them it still is the "New Kingdom of Saint Francis." This modest pamphlet does not pretend to give more than a sketch of Franciscan achievement in Arizona during the past four hundred years. If that colorful story with its heroic epi- sodes were to be recited in detail, supported by the exacting apparatus of historical criticism, the volumes would be bulky and might frighten the reader at the outset. With even the best of will, he might never find time to finish them. So with the 4 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA average reader in mind, and with a view to his many pre-occu- pations, the writer has prepared this monograph from many authentic sources. It furnishes the reader with the salient points and substantial achievements of the gray-robe of yesterday and of the brown-robe of today. Because the story is long and the details vast and complicated, much that is interesting and in- formative has been omitted. Again, the story is confined strictly to Franciscan achievement, to the exclusion of the splendid work and heroic deeds of other religious Orders and of the secular priests of the diocese, but only because brevity is indis- pensable for a short story. We send the story on its way trust- ing that the reader himself will become enamored of its color and romance, and will be enticed to explore for himself the wealth that is hidden away in the musty tomes of another day. The writer takes this occasion to thank all his confreres of the Franciscan Provinces of Santa Barbara and St. John 'the Baptist for their cheerful and valuable assistance given in the preparation of this monograph. The Author.

Signature of Fray Marcos de Niza, O.E.M.

6 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

The Coming of Niza The year 1939 recalls the name of a Franciscan friar, who four hundred years ago opened up a new territory for spiritual conquest. He named it "The New Kingdom of St. Francis." This friar was Marcos de Niza, a Frenchman by birth, who before coming to Mexico, had witnessed part of the Spanish conquest of Peru. He came to Mexico at the invitation of the Franciscan Bishop, Fray Juan de Zumdrraga, who in turn introduced him to the viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza. At the time the viceroy was interested in the great northern country identified today with Arizona and New Mexico. He wanted to send thither explorers who would directly report to him on their findings. Cabeza de Vaca and his companions had arrived in Mexico in 1536 and had told their wonderful tale of adven- ture. Mexico, or New Spain, as it was then called was in eager expectancy of great things to come. On the recommendation of Fray Antonio de Ciudad Rod-

rigo, the . Franciscan Provincial, Niza was accepted by the viceroy as the person, who by reason of his virtue, knowledge, and endurance, would be bcst suited to make the exploration. With him he was to take a companion, Brother Honorato. These two set out for Culiacan on the west coast of Mexico, then the outpost of civilization in the viceroyalty on the Pacific. From this outpost of empire, the two friars and Indian guides set out on March 7, 1539. With them of course was Estevan, the Barbary Negro, who was one of the companions of Cabeza de Vaca. Clothed with full authority from the viceroy, Niza had instruc-

tions to enter. into friendship with all the Indian tribes through whose territory he should pass, to make detailed observations concerning the sea coast, to observe the mineral wealth, the fauna and flora of those regions, to note the topography, the geography, and ethnology of the new world he was to enter. Formally, it was the Marcos de Niza expedition. At Petatlan, Brother Honorato grew ill and had to abandon the idea of accompanying Niza. Fray Marcos went on and took a northerly route through present Sinaloa and Sonora. He kept notes as he went along, as the basis of the official report he was to make later. Niza came to a well-watered settlement called Vacapa and there he remained for two weeks during Passiontide, whence he sent Estevan ahead. and Indian runners in three directions to the sea coast. From Vacapa on, the friar THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 7 tells us he heard consistent and continuous reports of the greatness of the cities which were the object of his goal, namely, Cibola. Estevan sent back messengers to Niza from time to time with good news of the great cities still far beyond the changing horizon. Estevan and his Indian companions actually reached Cibola but the Negro with seine of the Indians were put to death. This dire news was relayed to Niza, which threw him into consterna- tion. According to his own story he was near his journey's end and yet was to be deprived of the fruit of his toil:---to see Cibola, the Promised Land. Even at the risk of his life, he tells us, he went to a hill whence he could see it in order that he might report concerning it. His description of Cfbola is as follows: "It is situated on a level stretch on the brow of a roundish hill. It appears to be a very beautiful city, the best I have seen in these parts; the houses are of the type that the Indians described to me, all of stone, with their stories and terraces, as it appeared to me from a hill whence I could see it. The town is bigger than the city of Mexico." Niza called the area the "New

Kingdom of St. Francis." (Percy Baldwin, Discover), of the Seven Cities of Cibo la, pp. 28-29). Then without entering the city, since identified as Hawikuh, New Mexico, Niza retraced his steps "with much more fear than food" and returned to Culiacan and Mexico City. He drew up a formal report for the viceroy. The viceroy and his agents interested the populace in enlisting for the northern conquest. The result was the Coronado expedition. It might seem strange to the average reader that after four hundred years there still remains a Niza problem which the best historians admit has not been solved. To even propose a list of the unanswered questions concerning Niza would cover many pages; the attempted answers might cover a large volume. It is not our purpose to present these problems here, but merely to state that from the standpoint of scholarship the Niza question has not been solved. For centuries Niza's veracity was called into question and even after Bandelier apparently banished all doubts in this regard, geographical difficulties mounted. New students took up the field with the result that the problem became more complex. This much we can say however, that Marcos de Niza was the first Franciscan to enter Arizona, and this in the year 1539. S THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

Coronado and the Franciscans March North On his return to Mexico, Fray Marcos de Niza was elected Provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Holy Gospel. Soon, it appears, a veritable crusade in favor of the northern expedition was preached from the pulpits of Mexico. Within a short time, about 800 native Indians and more than 300 Spaniards were enlisted, and these were placed under the command of Francisco Vdsquez de Coronado, the governor of New Galicia. Before setting out for Cibola, this army passed in review before the viceroy at Compostella, February 22, 1540. Marcos de Niza was with the expedition as guide and counsellor. Besides him were two other Franciscan priests: Fray Antonio de Victoria and Fray Juan de Padilla. Moreover there were three Fran- ciscan lay-brothers: Fray Juan de la Cruz, Fray Luis de Escalona (Ubeda), and Fray Daniel. Finally, there were two donados or lay candidates who wore the habit, the Indians, Lucas and Sebastian. The expedition arrived at Culiacan, Niza's original starting place, March 28, 1540. On April 22, it started to move forward, all the above-mentioned friars going along. On the third day out, Father Victoria broke his leg and so had to return to the main body of the army which had remained behind. The other friars continued to travel with the advance guard. Cibola was reached on July 7, 1540. Here disappointment and chagrin became the twin dismal hosts of the Indian plain: the city which in some form or manner had been described so glow- ingly or imagined too colorfully, suddenly became diminutive and unimpressive. "Such were the curses," writes Castafieda who was with the expedition, "that some hurled at Friar Marcos that I pray God may protect him from them." Niza's stay at Ohola became uncomfortable and so in August of the same year he returned to Mexico with the messenger Juan Gallego. Niza lived until 1558, dying, broken in health and partly para- lyzed, in Mexico City. Historians have vainly sought for an explanation or defense from him concerning the Gib()la exploit. Coronado, his army, and the friars had traversed the desert of southwestern Arizona, and the rugged White Mountain country of the east and northeast of the state, and thus deserve the fame that follows upon their heroic exploration. In New THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 9

Mexico, Coronado pursued the phantom of the Gran Quivira which never appeared, in the dreaty plains of northern Texas. He found even less than at Gib°la. Weary and 'disappointed, Coronado determined to return to. Mexico. Fray Juan de Padilla however, with Brothers Luis de Escalona and Juan de la Cruz, as well as the two donados determined to stay in the country to do what they could for the conversion of the natives. Juan de Padilla had been a soldier in his youth and so was accustomed to hardship and privation. So from New Mexico, he and the two Indian donados set out again for Gran Quivira. Fray Luis de Escalona accompanied them as far as Cicuye where he later perished, probably a martyr. Juan de Padilla's fate was likewise soon sealed. He was attacked by the Indians but the two donados at Padilla's request, made their escape and succeeded in reaching Mexico. Before closing the story of Franciscan participation in the exploration of Arizona, it is well to state that Fray Juan de Padilla accompanied Pedro de Tovar to the MOqui villages of Northeastern Arizona and beheld with him the yawning depths of the Grand Canyon. Padilla is the proto-martyr of the United States. The principal result of the Coronado expedition was that the northern country came within the ambit of Spanish sway and prepared the way for the later spiritual and terri- torial conquest. Onate Conquers New Mexico Not until forty years after Coronado left Arizona did Spaniards again tread the soil of the new-found country. In 1583, Don Antonio Espejo started from northern Mexico and followed the Rio Grande to New Mexico, turning west through Acoma and Zuhi, and visiting the Moqui villages of northeastern Arizona. With the Espejo expedition was a Franciscan friar, Bernardino Beltran. This Padre, however, did not enter the confines of Arizona but went as far as Zufn only where he awaited Espejo's return from the Moquis. This being the case we can go on with our story. It was in 1598 that Juan de Ofiate conquered New Mexico and brought it under the effective rule of Spain. From this date on down towards the close of the seventeenth century it was New Mexico and not Arizona that loomed large in both civil and ecclesiastical annals. With Oflate were Franciscan friars who opened up a very flourishing Indian mission field in New Mexico. From this area, they extended their influence to northeastern Arizona. 10 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

The Moqui country was visited by soldiers of Ofiate but the ampler exploration of Arizona did not take place until 1604. With thirty men he set out in search of the South Sea (the

Pacific). -With him were the Franciscan Fathers, Francisco Escobar and ,Francisco de San Buenaventura. From Moqui the explorers continued west in the general direction of the present Santa Fe Railroad and turned,southwestward through the present area of Prescott as far as the junction of the Gila and Colo- rado Rivers. In January, 1605, they reached the head of the Gulf of California. The party returned by the same route. Fr. Escobar is said to have thoroughly interested himself in the ten different languages encountered along the way.

The Pueblo Indians of - New Mexico accepted Christianity and the Franciscans there soon entered upon a Golden Age of missionary activity. They also visited the Moquis and during a part of the seventeenth century at least there were permanent Franciscan residences among that tribe. In 1628 or 1629 Fathers Francisco de Porras and Andres Gutierrez together with the

Franciscan lay : brother, Cristóbal de la Concepción entered the Moqui country and within a few years realized the spiritual harvest of 800 converted Christian Moquis. However, inveterate pagan custom thrived along with growing Christianity. The medicine men of the tribe determined to get rid of Father de Porras. The Indians poisoned his food and at the first bite Father de Porras realized his end was near. He hurried to Aguatuvi where Fr. Francisco de San Buenaventura was stationed and from him he received the last sacraments. He died June 28, 1633. Hitherto it has been held almost universally that Father de Porras was the proto-martyr of Arizona but Fr. Bonaventure Oblasser, 0.F.M., holds that the honor goes to another Fran- ciscan, Fray Martin de Arvide who was 'murdered by Zipias, identified as Moquis, in 1632. Formerly it was believed that Father Arvide was slain in northwestern New Mexico. A more detailed account may be found in the article: "The Franciscan Martyrs of North America" by Fr. Marion Habig, 0.F.M., in The Franciscan Educational Conference Report, Vol. XVIII, Dec. 1936. In 1680, the year of the great Pueblo Indian Revolt, the Franciscan personnel in the Pueblo and Moqui missions was wiped out. Seventeen friars were murdered in New Mexico, four in Arizona. At that time the Franciscans had three residences among the Moquis, at Aguatuvi, Jongopabi, and Oraibi, Fray José de Figueroa of Aguatuvi, Fray Jose Trujillo of Jongo-

12 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA pabi, and the friars Jose de Espeleta and Augustin de Santa Maria at Oraibi were the missionaries at the time. These laid down their lives on August 10, 1680. The Pueblo revolt was the greatest single death blow to missionary activity ever recorded within colonial United States. Though mission work was again resumed among these people, it never attained the greatness of the first period. In regard to the Moquis sporadic attempts were made for their conversion. Fearing an invasion in 1700, the Moquis allowed their children to be baptized but they themselves refused to embrace Chris- tianity. Between the years 1719-1745 Franciscans from New Mexico visited Aguatuvi but it seems that even so far down as 1767 no resident missionary was among them. Meanwhile the mission field in southern Arizona was opened by the Jesuits when they pushed their Sonora field beyond what is now the international line. The dominating character of this period is the indefatigable Father Eusebio Francisco Kino. In 1691 he and Father Salvatierra reached Tumacdcori, and in 1692, San Xavier del Bac. Southern Arizona together with a portion of Sonora was then known at Pimeria Alta. In this region the Jesuits labored for a great period of time down to 1767 when the entire Order, unfortunately, was expelled from the Spanish dominions. It is sufficient to say in passing that Fr. Kino founded a mission of adobe with a tezontle foundation at San Xavier on April 28, 1700. This mission of his, however, has nothing whatsoever to do with the beautiful struc- ture south of Tucson, as will be brought out presently. <<» Franciscans Arrive in Southern Arizona To replace the banished Jesuits, the district of Pimeria Alta was given to the Franciscans of the College of Querétaro, Mex- ico. These gray-robes entered the field in 1768. At that time San Xavier was the northernmost Christian outpost of western Mexico. Fray Francisco Hermenegildo Garcés was put in charge of San Xavier and it was he who built the adobe church near the edge of modern Tucson, whose crumbling ruins can still be seen today. For history's sake that ruin ought to be restored. Franciscans continued to cultivate Pimeria Alta and even beyond down to 1828 when the missions received another set- back because of revolution in Mexico. All missionaries who refused to become citizens of the republic were expatriated. Nearly three quarters of a century passed by before Franciscans returned to the field, and they were Americans.

14 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

Besides garnering souls for heaven and exploring the ter- rain, the Franciscans of the Spanish period, left in their trail beautiful specimens of architecture which are the pride of Arizona and the envy of the other states. This is particularly true of the "White Dove of the Desert," San Xavier. A peren- nial question has been, who built the church and when? If one reads the abundant literature on the subject up to a few years ago, he will find that all sorts of theories have been advanced. Many writers said that the Jesuits built it, others declared it was evidently Franciscan in origin, a third class again compromised by saying it was begun by the Jesuits and finished by the Franciscans. The writer is glad to report that now the question has been taken out of the pale of controversy and has been placed in the realm of facts. It was built entirely by the Franciscans from the very foundations. Father Kino built a mission at San Xavier. That is a fact of history. He built a church of adobe with tezontle foundations. That is another fact of history. San Xavier of today is built of kiln-burned brick. So is TumacAcori. So are the missions of the Altar and Magdalena Valleys in Sonora just across the border;—beautiful missions, at times rivaling those of Cali- fornia, such as Pitiqui to, Caborca, and Tubutama. As a matter of fact when the Franciscans took over the mission field of Pimeria Alta which included southern Arizona and northern Sonora, they found all the missions of adobe. We are indebted to a modern Franciscan historian. Father Marion Habig, 0.F.M., for the final and irrefutable proof that San Xavier as it stands today as well as the other kiln-burned brick missions of the area are the work of the Franciscans. He obtained his evidence in the archives of Mexico especially from two reports of Father Barbastro, 0.F.M., superior of the Fran- ciscan missions. This mission friar credits the Franciscans with having introduced the use of brick in the missions of the Pimeria. In 1793, writing to the viceroy, Father Barbastro declared: "Lastly we hope to see completed this year the church which has been built in the Mission of San Xavier del Bac, the last Christian pueblo lying to the north, which before all others can compare with the most beautiful in Mexico, and in this country must in justice be styled marvelous." Moreover the document declares that the Franciscans built it "from the foundations up." Those who are interested in reading Father Habig's entire report on the matter may consult The South- western Historical Quarterly (October, 1937).

16 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

As in the Niza question so in the San Xavier question it is important to know what definite assertions can be made with: out injuring the truth. Concerning San Xavier, then, the following facts cannot be doubted: Neither Father 'Kin° nor any other Jesuit built any part of thé present San Xavier Mission. The original mission site of Father Kino has been definitely located north of the present San Xavier. mission by Father Mark Bucher, of Tucson. The mission of Father kino was of adobe; the Franciséan mission of burned brick. The Fran- ciscans introduced the use of burned brick in missions in Ari- zona. The Franciscans built San Xavier from the very foun-. dations. The greater part of San - Xavier Mission was finished, toward the end of 1793 when it was administered by Fathers Baltasar Carrillo and Narciso Gutierrez. The builder of the mission was Ignacio Gaona, whose grandson and great-grandson live in Caborca, Sonora, and Whom the writer saw in De- cember, 1937. This same artist likewise erected the sister mission of Concepción, at Caborca, similar to it in style and pro- portions. For the complete story of Father Mark's discovery of Kino's mission 'Site, the reader is .referred to The Hispanic American Historical Review .(February, 1936). Much useful information on the Franciscan missions in southern Arizona in Spanish days may be obtained in Mission San Xavier del Bac by Father Bonaventure Oblasser, O.F.M.

K Fray Francisco Garces Among the great names in the Franciscan history of Arizona, Fray Francisco Hermenegildo Garcés easily ranks first in accomplishments and in personality. This great missionary and explorer arrived at San Xavier del Bac on June 30, 1768. From San Xavier he attended to Tucson. It was from San Xavier too, that Father Garcés started his desert wanderings in all directions. He was not a stay-at-home type of soul. He always wanted to see just what was beyond the blue horizon. His explorations, like those of the Jesuit Kino, were but preliminaries to the opening of new mission fields. These explorations are known to history as entradas. As early as August 29, 1768, Father Garcés started on his first entrada, accompanied by five Indians. On this journey he traveled about eighty leagues, west, north and southeast, through many Papago rancherias, announcing the Kingdom of Heaven. By October he was back at San Xavier. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 17

Garces commenced his second entrada on October 18, 1770, caking a northwesterly direction, reaching the Gila, where he learned of the tribes further west. He had traveled ninety leagues from his San Xavier and now decided to return. As a result of his findings, Garcés sent a report of mission possi- bilities to his College of Querétaro. He was blazing the trail. In his journeys he refused a military escort preferring to risk his own life rather than to cause suspicions to arise in the Indians because of the soldiers' presence. The intrepid missionary travelled either on foot or on horseback. Garcés began his third entrada on August 8, 1771. Travel- ling west he reached the Colorado and crossed it, arriving on this occasion at the headwaters of the Gulf of California. He returned to San Xavier by way of Caborca in Sonora, after an absence of nearly three months. For some time the Spaniards had desired to open a land route from Mexico to California. The results of Garcés explorations showed the feasibility of a way through Yuma. Juan Bautista de Anza, military commander at Tubac conferred with Garcés and later became enthusiastic. Anza communicated the proposition to the viceroy who gave orders to proceed. Anza was to scout the trail but Garcés was told to accompany him. At last Tubac, Arizona, was to be linked with Monterey in California. The expedition got under way and left Tubac, January 8, 1774. With it was a San Gabriel Mission Indian, Father Garcés, and another Franciscan, Fray Juan Diaz. The expedition took the usual trail through Caborca and Sonoita through Yuma. The Colorado was crossed February 9, 1774, and San Gabriel Mission, near present Los Angeles, was reached March 22. Though Anza went to Monterey with his soldiers; Garcés remained at San Gabriel for a time and then returned to the Yumas in twelve and a half days. Diaz waited for Anza at San Gabriel where the two headed for the Colorado, May 15. Garcés joined them and accompanied the travellers until May 21, when Garcés remained on the Gila, without an escort. Anza and Diaz arrived at Tubac, May 26. Father Garcés had received orders to ascertain the feasibility of a land route between New Mexico and Monterey. Alone he travelled northward and reached the Jalchedunes. Here he found it was inadvisable to go further and returned to San Xavier which he reached, July 10, 1774. 18 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

The Spanish Government, as a result of Anza's report decided to plant a colony on the California coast so the great expedition across the desert and mountains was prepared. Anza again was in command, and the Franciscans, Fray Pedro Font, the diarist, and Fray Tomas Eizarch went along, the latter as far as the Colorado. Garcés' destination, too was the Colo- rado. The expedition started out from Tubac, October 22, 1775, and after passing through Tucson and by the Casa Grande Ruins, reached the Colorado which it crossed November 30. San Gabriel was reached January 4, .1776, and Monterey, March 10. It was from Arizona that California's first colony was suc- cessfully planted, and Padre Garces had blazed the trail. Garcés did not "stay put" very long at Yuma but soon visited the tribes along the lower Colorado to the Gulf, awaken- ing in them the desire for Christianity and carrying with him the famous banner of Our Lady. On this tour he was gone about a month between December 5, 1775, and January 3, 1776. His next entrada took him north to the vicinity of Needles among the Mojaves. He discovered the Mojave River, covered the wide expanse of the desert and finally reached Mission San Gabriel in California, March 24. Father Garcés went on through the San Fernando Valley, over the mountains into the great San Joaquin Valley of central California. It is pleasing to announce that today Father Garcés' exploration of the San Joa- quin Valley is being recognized by a graceful statue of the friar to be placed in Garcés Circle in Bakersfield. Garcés recrossed the Mojave Desert and came to the country of the Jamajabs. Instead of going to Yuma he decided to set out for the Moqui country in northeastern Arizona. He reached Oraibi on July 2, 1776. But the Moquis were the only people who proved to be inhospitable to the wandering missionary and so he left their country and returned to the Jamajabs. Thence he followed the course of the Colorado, reaching Yuma on August 27, 1776. Father Garcés had been absent nearly eleven months, had travelled 700 leagues on foot and had visited nine different tribes composing 24,500 souls. Lack of space prevents the presentation of the interesting details of these entradas. We must consider now the mission foundations among the Yumas. Chief Palma was desirous for mission establishments but these had been delayed by the Span- ish government. Finally four missionaries, all Franciscans, were sent to the field: Fray Francisco Garcés, Fray Juan Diaz, Fray 1VIatias Moreno, and Fray Juan Antonio Barraneche. This was in 1779. Fray Francisco Hermenegildo Garces, O.F.M. Arizona's Greatest Franciscan Missionary-Explorer 20 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

It was most unfortunate that the Yuma missions were not founded on the California plan but it was not the fault of the missionaries. The headstrong Spanish officials planned two pueblos of colonists who were to be allowed to mingle freely with the Indians, while the Padres were to be pastors of both. There was no Indian segregation. The "mission system" was doomed to failure from the start. As a matter of fact it became a catastrophe. Two towns or pueblos were founded with their respec- tive churches or missions: Concepción at present Ft. Yuma, and San Pedro and San Pablo de Bicurier. Fathers Garcés and Barraneche were in charge of the former, Fathers Moreno and Diaz, of the latter. Soldiers and colonists arrived in 1780. As foretold, the Spanish policy failed and the Indians became pro- voked by the insolence of the soldiers. Conditions became so bad that the padres realized that the colonies were doomed to extinction and the people to massacre. Making the best of a bad situation, they aroused the people to repentance and prepared them for impending death. Padres and Spaniards were caught in a trap on the Colorado. The climax came when the Spaniards arrested Chief Palma and put him in stocks. The storm broke on July 17, 1781, and ruin reigned. The Indians surrounded Concepción mission after Fr. Bar- raneche had finished Mass, and after Fr. Garcés had begun his. Both escaped, though the former was wounded. At Bicurier, Fathers Diaz and Moreno had not said Mass yet and were among the first of the victims. Laymen were killed and captured, church and buildings were set afire. Fr. Barraneche escaped a second attack on July 18, and he and Fr. Garcés sought refuge with an old couple who had always been loyal to them. A Christian traitor found the hiding place and on the 20th, both missionaries were beaten to death, despite the fact that Chief Palma had given orders to spare the life of Father Garcés. The military carne upon the scene and found death and destruction where the Colorado flows down to the sea. The bodies of the missionaries were found, Fathers Garcés and Bar- raneche side by side in an incorrupt state. They were taken to Tubutama, Sonora, and buried. Later Father Garcés was taken to Queretaro where his mortal remains lie today. The Colo- rado massacre closed the Yuma mission field for about a century and we take up the thread in the second part of this monograph dealing with the modern period of the friars in Arizona. The beautiful statue of Father Garcés gracing the banks of the Colorado at Ft. Yuma, California, is a just tribute to the zealous and unique soul of the apostolic pioneer. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 21

Escalante and Dominguez Tread the Great Basin One final consideration must be given to the Franciscans during the colonial period before we turn our attention to modern times. It will be recalled that Father Garcés had been commissioned to open up a trail from New Mexico to Cali- fornia, in which he had been unsuccessful. Soon after, two Franciscan friars of New Mexico were entrusted with the com- mission. They were Fathers Francisco Silvestre Vélez de Es- calante and Francisco Atanasio Dominguez. These two failed in their objective but nevertheless they explored a great part of the basin west of the Rocky Mountains covering the area of northern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado, central Utah and northern Arizona. Their journey commenced July 29, 1776 and ended January 2, 1777. The beginning and end of the trip was Santa Fe, New Mexico. In regard to Arizona, the friars entered the state near the Nevada and Utah borders, and continued east along the northern rim of the Grand Canyon, crossed the Colorado, and returned to Santa Fe through the Moqui country and Zuñi. In the state of Utah, the services of these padres to exploration and history are commemorated at various places and it is a fine tribute that in Arizona also, at Ashfork, the Santa Fe has named its hotel "The Escalante."

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The Franciscans in Maricopa County Phoenix as a city dates back to 1870 when it was surveyed for a townsite. From the time the first settlers began to move in until 1880 Phoenix had no resident priest but services were held at the Otero home by a visiting secular priest from Flor- ence. In 1880 there was agitation for a church and consequent- ly Father Edward Gerard of Florence built an adobe church on Monroe Street between Third and Fourth and called it St. Mary's. It was completed in 1881, and in the following year Father Joseph Bloise became the first resident pastor. In 1895 the Rt. Rev. Peter Bougarde, Vicar-apostolic of Arizona, offered Phoenix and its environs to the Franciscan Fathers of the Sacred Heart Province whose headquarters were at St. Louis, Mo. These accepted this wide field open for apos- 22 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA tolic labor. Father Seraphin Lampe was appointed the first pastor and religious superior. He together with Father José Godayol arrived in Phoenix on January 12, 1896. Two weeks later Father Novatus Benzing and the Franciscan lay-brothers, Ildephonse and Robert, arrived. On July 22, 1896, Father Novatus was made pastor and superior while Fathers Severin Westhoff and Alban Schwarze were made assistants and missionaries. Rome insured Franciscan permanence in Phoenix by granting the beneplacitum apostolicum, or papal approval, January 7, 1896. As one gazes on St. Mary's today and observes the varied activities of the friars in parochial, educational, institutional, and social affairs, he is drawn by curiosity to inquire as to the possible humble beginnings out of which the present-day parish organization has grown. Verily, St. 'Mary's today is what the Franciscan friars have made it,—a monument to their zeal, energy, and foresight. Let us take a page from the past and read of those arduous. beginnings. The Franciscan chronicle of St. Mary's (a yeat to year rec- ord kept by an appointed chronicler) contains the following paragraph which speaks for itself: "The congregation, a mixed one of Mexicans and English speaking Catholics, was in a very poor condition, both materially and spiritually. The church, an adobe building, resembled a barn rather than a place of worship. As there was no ceiling in it, the sky could be seen through the shingle roof in a hundred places. Through the efforts of Brothers Adrian, Ildephonse, and Eugene, the church assumed quite a different and more agreeable appearance. A new vaulted ceiling was put into it early in the year 1897; shortly after, also a communion railing; two new altars; a decent floor; a carpet; a sanctuary lamp. . . . A sacristy was added to the church during the summer of 1897. At the same time the church was consolidated by a new brick foundation, the front r plastered, and inside and out it received a much needed painting. A new organ was also acquired. The dwellings, which the fathers found here on their arrival consisted of two adobe huts and a small brick house of two rooms. A new monastery, therefore was built according to plans of Brother Adrian in the first half of the year (1897) at the cost of about $10,000." This in the modern language of the common folk is what we call starting from scratch. In 1897, also a brick school was built for the Mexicans of Phoenix and in 1898, the school which had been built by and THE VERY REV. NOVATUS BENZING, O.F.M. Pioneer Franciscan of Phoenix, Founder of Modern Franciscan Indian Missions of Arizona, Superior of the Missions, and Provincial of the Province of Santa Barbara (1928-19.37) THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA for the parish in 1892, and which meanwhile has been turned over-to the Sisters of Mercy was reacquired for the parish. The parish aspmed,the debt and gave the sisters two building lots at Fourth -and Monroe. In 1903 .--?:'the Sigters of the Precious Blood began to teach in the parochial -school. The original adobe church which had been renovated to 'make it a'place fit for the worship of God, was soon replaced by the construction of the basement of the present edifice of St. Mary's. The plans were drawn by Brother Adrian. This basement church Was cledicated , by Bishop Granjon in Febt ust ary, 1903. In July, 1913, the superstructure was begun with the result that the beautiful church- of St. -Mary's in Spanish style, so conformable to the history and traditions of the southwest, was solemnly dedicated on February 11, 1915," by Bishop Granjon.. Catholic education kept abreast of the times. In 1917, a Catholic high school fOr "girls was built and this likewise was. entrusted to the, Sisters" of the Precious Blood. The old brick school buildings became outmoded so that a new parochial school became imperative. This modern •.up-to-date schod with its class rOoms, auditorium, cafeteria, and Meeting rooms, was dedicated on, February 21, 1926; by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Daniel J. Gercke, D. -D., Bishop of Tucson. At the present time (1938-1939) fourteen sisters are engaged in teaching in the grammar school' and five in the high chool. The are about 720 pupils in the former and about 120 in the latter institution. Realizing the need for equal opportunity for the Catholic boys of Phoenix, the Franciscan Fathers set to work on the project of a new high school, close to the rest of the parish plant. Ground was broken -on December 20, 1937, the corner stone laid March 13, 1938,- the doors opened to student's Sep- tember 17, 1938, and the building was dedicated November 11, of the same year by His Excellency, the Bishop of Tucson. This high school is staffed by four Franciscans and two laymen and though courses for the first year were offered only to Freshmen and Sophomores, the enrollment has already reached the number of 121 students'!" The Fathers are especially trained for their work and propose to give a more varied program as the school develops. Thus there are close to a , thousand children being given a Catholic "education under the tutelage of the Franciscan Fathers. Improvements have been made on the friary from time to time as need arose. The largest improvement took place in 1938

26 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIOZNA when a new wing was added to house the increasing number of teachers who will instruct at St. Mary's, as well as to afford the necessary facilities for the smoother Einctioning of community life. The Franciscan residence in Phoenix was raised to the dignity of a guardianate, July 23, 1919; which gives to the guardian at Phoenix the right to vote in the chapter elections for the Provincial of the Province. Jn a guardianate also there is the duty on the community of reciting thé ivine Office in common. The first guardian of Phoenix was the Rev. Benno Franzen. On December 16, 1928, the parish limits of St. Mary's were confined to Phoenix south of Virginia Street, the district north of that, becoming part of the Jesuit parish of St. Francis Xavier. On that same day the Spanish church Of the Immacu- late Heart at Ninth and Washington. Streets was dedicated. It is a national church for the Mexicans of Phoenix and is co-extensive in limits with the other parishes of Phoenix. When ,Father Novatus arrived in Phoenix, January 28, 1896, there were only fifteen American Catholic families in the parish. Today there are between 2,500 'and 3,000 souls in St. Mary's parish alone. In 1931, the Golden Jubilee of St. Mary's was observed and in the not too distant futbre we can look ahead to the Diamond Jubilee of 1941, with a feeling of gratitude to Almighty God and with a just sense of pride in the accomplishments of the friars. The major developments of St. Mary's parish in Phoenix are due to the zeal of the Very Rev. Novatus Benzing who has given the greater part of his priestly life to the spiritual and material upbuilding of the parish. Father Novatus came to Phoenix when it was a western town. He has lived to see it grow into a metropolis. Father Novatus came to Arizona when it was a territory. He has lived to see it grow into an ever developing state. He has grown up in Arizona, with Phoenix in particular. Father Martin Knauff, the present pastor together with hiS assistants is continuing to develop the ever growing field of labor with the same zeal, energy, and foresight, which was characteristic of the4ormer sheperds "of souls. Under the guidanC'e of the following pastors, St. Mary's has risen to its present gloriotis state: Fr. Seraphin Lampe: January, 1896—August 1, 1896. Fr. Novatus Benzing: August I, 1896—September, 1903. Fr. Mathias Rechsteiner: September, 1903—August, 1904. Fr. Novatus Benzing: August, 1904—March, 1910. 46.

St. ilarv's Chun h, Phoenix, Arirona Dedicated February 11. 1915 St. Marys High School for Boys, Phoenix Dedicated November 11, 1938

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EB CALIFCRNIA Sacred Heart Church and St. Monica's Cc Ici For the Colored People of Phoenix, Arizona THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 31

Fr. Severin Westhoff: March, 1910—July, 1911. Fr. Alban Schwarze: July, 191I—August, 1912. Fr. Novatus Benzing: August, 1912-1922. Fr. Ferdinand Ortiz: 1922 — March, 1924. Fr. Novatus Benzing: 1924 — 1928, in which latter year he became Provincial of the Province of Santa Barbara. Fr. Martin Knauff: 1928 until the present time. Since 1935 a new development of great spiritual and material import has been developing in southwestern Phoenix, owing to the zeal and energy of Father Emmet McLoughlin, assistant of St. Mary's. Since that time he has been laboring stoutly for the betterment of the Colored people of Phoenix with the result that he has brought large numbers within the shadow of the Cross. At the present time, he has acquired property to the extent of 150 by 300 feet on which there is a beautifully appointed and stuccoed church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, a social and recreational center, a medical clinic, known as St. Monica's Center, a large playground and athletic field. Besides attending to purely parochial and educational work, the Franciscan Fathers of St. Mary's have labored zealously in the many institutions in and about Phoenix. At present they are chaplains to St. Joseph's Hospital, the County Tubercular Hospital, the State Asylum for the Insane, the County Poor Farm, and a number of private sanatoria. Formerly also they attended to the Government Indian School. The history of St. Mary's parish and the labors of the Fran- ciscans would be incomplete if we were to neglect stating that when they first came to Phoenix in 1896 they had practically all of Maricopa county as their far-flung parish. To the west the friars visited Wickenburg, Buckeye, Glendale, Tolleson, Avondale, and Gila Bend. To the east they visited Fort Mc- Dowell, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Guadalupe, Casaba, and other places. Under their guidance, the Church of St. Anthony was dedicated at Wickenburg, January 6, 1902; the Church of St. Henry rose in Buckeye in 1912; and on January 12, 1913, the Church of St. Joseph at Glendale was dedicated. At Tempe, the Church of Our . Lady of Mt. Carmel came into being in 1903, while a school for Mexicans had already been built by the Franciscans in 1898. On June 27, 1909, the Church of the Sacred Heart was dedicated at Mesa. On June 24, 1906, the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Yaqui Indian Village near Inscription Rock was dedicated. A new 32 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA chapel was ready for services there by March 21, 1916. Chand- ler and Goodyear were also visited at regular intervals, Father Ambrose Trabert saying the first Mass in the township of Gilbert, at Goodyear, April 18, 1920. The western missions have been attended by the Fathers of the Immaculate Heart of the Spanish parish since 1928. The eastern missions have since become independent parishes and are served by the secular clergy. . Franciscans Among the Pimas • Franciscans as missionaries have written their names in letters of gold during the period of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. From the Bay of San Francisco to Tierra del Fuego in South America, from San Diego in California to St. Augustine in Florida, the futile trancisMno Crossed mountain and desert, forded swamp and lagoon, to bring to the aborigines the light of the Gospel of Christ. The great period of missioniza- tion was broken up and demoralized by the .secularizing .agency of material-minded statesmen. Yet through difficulties of every description, the friars garnered countless hundreds of thousands of souls for the spiritual empire of Christ, clothed and fed the hungry, taught them the arts and sciences of civiliiation,. left in their tracks beautiful ecclesiastical monuments', learned his- tories, books on ethnology and linguistics, which are the admira- tion of a modern age. In modern times, they carry on as of yore, using the bene- fits of science and modern culture as handmaids of religion, yet always inspired by the glorious heritage handed down by their predecessors of former centuries. When • the first Fran- ciscans came to Phoenix in 1896, one would think that they had plenty to do in the town with the discouraging conditions they found. However, they set themselves to the task of culti- vating the entire field committed to their care. And thus while they had hardly settled in their new abode, they reached out to the desert Indians to take up the work where it had be:ill left off by their gray-robed confreres of another day. Up to 1908, the Pima Indians south of Phoenix were attended by the clergy of St. Mary's and so up to that time the missionary work constituted a part of the parish history. It was Father Novatus Benzing who rode out to the vicinity of present Komatke, with a horse and dilapidated buggy one morning of April, 1896, and there offered the first holy Mass, said by a THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 33

Franciscan among the Arizona Indians since the departure of the friars of the colonial period. A church was built at Santa Cruz in 1897. In 1901, a new and ampler church was built while the old church was used as a school. This school was placed under the Sisters of St. Joseph and on the first day, 120 pupils were registered. In 1901, Father Justin Deutsch was placed in charge of the Pimas at St. John's and under his guidance the school grew to thellourishing condition it enjoys today. On April 14, 1908, St. John's 'Mission, Komatke, became a canonical residence and from then on, was juridically sepa- rated from Phoenix. From that day to this it hm been the heart and nerve center of Pima Land whence the missionaries have gone forth to carry the torch of faith to the ,outlying villages. - By physical toil and mental strain, the modern padres carried on, developing the Indan' School with its many buildings and varied actiVities. Here the Indian children from the Pima as well as from other, :tribes are fed and clothed, are given a religious and secular education. Music, art, dramatics, athletics fden-t part of the program. From St. John's the Indian children, imblied with Catholic ideals, go forth to become missionaries amol'ig their own people. Today after the labor of forty years, - one-third of the 5,000 Pimas are Catholics. . Under the modern Franciscans church after church, and school after school, dOtted the desert expanse. St. Francis Mis- sion northeast of Phoenix rose in 1901 (Fr. Novatus); that of old San'tan (St. Ann) in 1909 (Fr. Francis); St. MiChaers, south of Sacaton, 1910 (Fr. Francis); St. Augustine's Mission at Chin

Chiuchu, 1912 (Fr. Tiburtius); St. Elizabeth's Cocklebur, 19 - 13 (Fr. Tiburtius); St. Anthony's Mission at Sacaton, 1916 (Fr. Gerard); Holy Family, Blackwater, 1918 (Fr. Vincent); St. Catherine's at Santa Cruz, 1919 (Fathers Antonine arid Henry); St. Francis of Assisi, Akchin, 1922 (Fr. Antonine); St. Francis Borgia, Sacate, 1927 (Fr. Antonine); St. Peter's, Bapchule (Casa Blanca), 1929 (Fr. Antonine); new Santan (St. Ann's), 1937 (Fathers Antonine and Celestine). Besides these churches, the friars have built day and boarding schools as need arose and gave instructions in the government schools. At the present time, besides maintaining St. John's School at Komatke, the Franciscans have schools at Bap- chule and Akchin. Father Antonine is constructing a new school at the latter place. The Missions at Akchin, Chiu Chiuchu, and Cockelbur are Papago Missions but owing to their proximity FRANCISCAN MISSIONS AMONG THE PIMAS St. John's Mission, Komatke St Catherine's Mission, Santa Cru: St. Anthony's Mission, Sacaton THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 35 to the Pima territory, they have been attended by the missionaries among the Pimas. In recent years, St. Elizabeth's at Cockel- bur has been abandoned. Four full time missionaries labor among the Pimas: Fr. Nicholas Perschl and Fr. John Joseph Tariel at St. John's; Fr. Antonine Willenbrink who resides at Akchin, and Fr. Mathias Curtin who resides at Bapchule. At the present time St. John's School, Komatke has nearly 200 children. Few know the desert geography better than the padres and many an original road have they cut through the sage and cactus. They have built well materially in proportion to the scanty financial means at their disposal. They have also added to the realm of human knowledge. Father Antonine who has spent over twenty years among the Pimas, according to the Pimas themselves speaks their language with greater purity than they generally do. He together with Father Celestine Chin have amid their apostolic labors, composed a Catechism in Pima, a Dictionary and Grammar in the same, and have translated into the vernacular of the Indians, the Sunday Gospels, no minor achievement. The fathers themselves, like the missionaries of old, with their own hands, have helped to build the churches and have added to them many an artistic touch. » a » Franciscans Among the Papagos San Xavier; The Papagueria. SAN XAVIER . After the last Spanish Franciscan, Fray Rafael Diaz, had left San Xavier in 1828, the pastor of Magdalena, Sonora, on occasion of his rare visits to Tucson, Tubac, and mining camps of the area, would also attend to the spiritual needs of San Xavier. The Gadsden Purchase (December 30, 1853) brought southern Arizona into the United States and Congress joined it to New Mexico. In 1859, Rome transferred it from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Hermosillo to distant Santa Fe. Father Machebeuf, the pioneer priest under the new flag, found San Xavier to be the one and only church in his extensive "parish." He made necessary repairs on it. Among the Papago Indians, long without a permanent shepherd, he found good and tract- able dispositions. They still remembered the prayers the gray- robes had taught them nor had they forgotten the faith of their fathers. They could still sing the High Mass from memory. And 36 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA with what honesty and reverence they preserved the sacred relics of olden days! When Father Machebeuf visited San.

Xavier for the first time, José, a Papago chieftain ; showed him the vessels and furnishings which the Indians had removed from the sacred temple, lest they be stolen, and which had been safely kept in Indian dwellings. There were four silver chal- ices, a gold plated silver monstrance, two gold cruets with a silver plate, two silver candlesticks, two silver censers, and a sanctuary carpet. Thus with vessels of silver and in hearts of gold, the faith was revived at Old Mission San Xavier. Already in 1886, Bishop Peter Bougarde of Tucson offered San Xavier Mission to the Franciscans in the person of Father Zephyrin Engelhardt, 0.F.M., who at the time was at Ft. Yuma.. This eminent missionary and later famous historian, was wil- ling to accept this missionary field, but owing to the scarcity of priests, his superiors were not able to release him for the work. It was not until February, 1912, that Bishop Granjon entrusted the Indians of San Xavier to, the Franciscans. Father Bonaventure Oblasser, who already was working among the desert Papagos, was appointed as their missionary. In January, 1913, Father Tiburtius Wand, who had been laboring among the Pimas, joined Father Bonaventure. On August 8, 1913, Father Ferdinand Ortiz, a native of Tucson, arrived as first superior of the Franciscan residence. The other two fathers were thus free to labor untrammeled among the Indians of the Papaguerfa. In 1915, the Papagueria was removed from the jurisdiction of San Xavier, with the founding of headquarters at San Solano near Cababi. Until the present time, the Franciscans have continued to labor among their ancient charges. Once more America's most beautiful mission is a citadel of religion. Growing interest in this historic landmark brings an increasing number of visitors from all parts of the nation. Yearly in December, on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, a colorful and impressive fiesta is held, when Indians gather from the far-flung desert, to join in prayer and merriment to honor their patron saint. From San Xavier the fathers attend San José Papago church in South Tucson to which a parochial school is attached. This was built by Father Francis Redman, 0.F.M., in 1924. They are chaplains of the Indian Tubercular Hospital near San Xavier, and temporarily care for the mission stations of Coyote and San Pedro in the Papaguerfa proper. The Franciscans at San Xavier at present are Father Mark Bucher and Father Marcian Bucher. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 37

THE PAPAGUERIA The domain of the Papago Indians is the desert country south of the Gila Valley and west of the Santa Cruz Valley, and extends south and west to the edge of the Altar Valley and the shores of the Gulf of California. The Indians live in twelve communities (pueblos), occupying well defined areas, on which are located their homes, fields, wells, and community holdings. In addition there is the nomadic band of Sand Papagos (Are- nenos) who formerly roamed the barren country between Ca- borca and Yuma. Some beginnings of the Faith were made in the old mission days, when these Indians would visit their kinsmen at the set- tlements along the Altar and Santa Cruz Valleys. On occasions, too, although rarely, the old missionaries themselves would visit the Papago rancherias. The year 1751 witnessed the founding of a mission at Sonoita, just across the present international boundary, south of Ajo. But the very next year, the Jesuit Padre in charge was murdered during the Pima Revolt. Fray Francisco Garcés later recommended the re-opening of this mission as well as a second one at Santa Rosa. But in 1828 the total results were an incompleted chapel on the east slope of Santa Rosa Mountain, dedicated to Saint Ann. When the Franciscans accepted Phoenix with Maricopa County in 1895, work among the Papagos of that region was inaugurated at Gila Bend. By 1897 the missionary, Father Severin Westhoff, had opened negotiations with the Govern- ment for a tract of land on which to build a boarding school. He further induced the Indians to build a chapel at the "Upper Village." Their zeal prompted them to add a second chapel at the "Lower Village." When the Indian missions of Pinal County were transferred. from the Florence parish to the Franciscans, Father Justin Deutsch inaugurated the work at Akchin near Maricopa. The Indians cooperated by building a chapel of railroad ties and thatched mud roof, and papered it on the inside. From St. Michael's Mission among the Pimas, Father Mathias Rechsteiner, during the winter of 1907-1908, founded the mission of St. Augustine at Chiu Chiuchu, south of Casa Grande. The formal opening of the new mission took place on April 9, 1908, with the baptism of the chief, Jose Xavier, another adult, and twenty three infants. After transferring his headquarters to Phoenix (October 1908), Father Mathias inaugurated his entradas into the interior FRANCISCAN MISSIONS AMONG THE PAPAGuS Mission and Village of Imika; Mission and Monastery, Topawa Fr. Bonaventure Oblasser, 0.F.M., at San Jose de i'isinemo Chapel at San Francisquito, Sonora. Stone Mission and Church at Cowlic THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 39

of the Papagueria. On his first entrada he celebrated Mass, preached and baptized at Wahewa-Vo (Oct. 27), at Kwahate (Oct. 28), Anegam (Oct. 29), Santa Rosa, (Oct. 30), Akchin (Oct. 31), and San Lorenzo (Nov. 1), thus founding these various missions. On his second entrada Baboquiviri was added to the chain (April 29, 1909), and Kaka on his third entrada (Febr. 28, 1910). The scarcity of water in the Papagueria prompted Father Mathias to ask his superiors for an automobile. So on October 4, 1910, he purchased a Brush for $585.00. Thus he is probably the first missionary habitually to use a car on the southern desert. On July 13, 1911, Father Mathias together with his provincial, the Very Rev. Benedict Schmidt, 0.F.M., called on the Bishop of Tucson and made arrangements to take over the entire Papagueria with headquarters at Casa Grande. Un- fortunately Father Mathias was called to his eternal reward seven days later, July 20, but his brethren were to continue his work. The work now devolved upon Father Bonaventure Oblasser. In October, 1911, he, together with Father Tiburtius Wand, made a trip of reconnaissance by team through entire Papago Land. In February, 1912, arrangements were made to use San Xavier, rather than Casa Grande as headquarters for the work in the Papagueria. The padres early emphasized Catholic day schools, a distinctive feature of the Papago field. In September, 1912, the schools at Topawa and Little Tucson (Lourdes) were opened, the very first schools of any kind in the Papago Desert. On February 5, 1913, Father Tiburtius reported for work among the Papagos, at San Xavier. He was entrusted with the northern and western communities. His equipment was a spring wagon and a team of mules. On March 10, he added Pisinemo to his chain of missions, and on May 14, Guvo (Cuba). Less than a year after his arrival, the Bishop could dedicate the new large church at Chin Chiuchu (Jan. 28, 1914). The same year classes were commenced in this church, making it the third school in Papago Land. The fourth school was opened at Gila Bend by Father Ferdinand Ortiz from San Xavier. The fifth school was being conducted by September, 1914, at San Miguel. In 1915, Cababi and Cowlic were added to the list of schools in the southern district and the church of St. Elizabeth at Wahewa Vo, under the guidance of Fr. Tiburtius, arose. To the Franciscan Order rightfully belongs the credit of inaugurat- ing, years before any others, a system of schools in the Papa- auerfa. 40 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

To this day (1939) Father Bonaventure has been in the Papago field continuously and has become an authority on the native language and culture, an expert on the topography and geography of the Papagueria, a friend and father to the race whom he loves and who loves him. He has been instrumental in bringing them many a spiritual blessing. Further he has bettered their material and social condition by being their advocate before the "Great White Father" in Washington. Father Bonaventure has probably gone into more devious by- paths and has opened up more desert trails in southern Arizona than any white man since the American occupation. San Xavier was found to be too distant from the ever ex- panding Papagueria and so, in order to facilitate missionary work, a new Franciscan center among the Papagos was developed at the Cababi Mission dedicated to St. Francis Solanus, the great Franciscan missionary of South America. A monastery was added to the mission building by Father Gerard Brenneke in - 1916-1917. This became a canonical residence, March 16, 1918. Later (1923-1924) this central residence was changed to To- pawa, where it is located today. Today (1939) the San Solano Missions among the Papagos comprise four districts: Topawa, the Southern, the Northern, and the Western Districts. At Topawa, in charge of the Father Superior, the Rev. Augustine Schwartz, we find, besides the monastery (1912), a stone church (1922), a school (1924), and a Sisters' convent (1924). Lourdes, with its school-church (1912) maintains a school-bus line. Sells, with its stone church (1920), San Isidro and its Indian chapel (1927), and Fresnal complete the district. The missionary also gives instructions in the Government schools at Sells, Baboquiviri and Santa Rosa Ranch and is chap- lain for the Government hospital at Sells. The district numbers 903 baptized Indians and 37 catechumens. Father Regis Rohder is in charge of the southern district and attends the following places: Cowlic with its imposing stone church (built by Fr. Augustine, 1921), its school (served by the mission bus line), and convent; San Miguel with its stone church (1913 and 1924), school (served by mission bus line), and convent; Vamuri with its chapel (built by Fr. Clar- ence Manns, 1936); San Ignacio with its stone chapel; and San Luis at Big Fields (built by Fr. Lucius Zittier, 1931). Instruc- tions are given at the Government school at Vamuri. The mis- THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 41 sionary has under his care 954 baptized Indians and 186 catechumens. In Sonora an additional 147 baptized Indians and 55 catechumens await his coming as soon as religious conditions in the southern republic permit. Father Burkard Kuksht attends the northern district from Covered Wells and has under his charge the following places: stone church at Covered We 11S, together with school and convent (built by Father Gerard Brenneke, 1934); Santa Rosa,

(built by -Fr; Justin, 1920); San Lorenzo (built by Fr. Nicholas, 1917); Kaka with its Indian chapel. Instructions are given in the Government schools at Santa Rosa 'and Ventana. His flock numbers 714 baptized Indians, 345 catechumens, 178 Monte- zumas and heathens. The extreme north of his district and the extreme east, neither included in the above, are temporarily in charge of Akchin and San Xavier. Fathers Bonaventure Oblasser and Herman Schneider care for the western district. This comprises Pisinerno with its school (built by Fr. Justin, 1920), and mission bus line, its church (Fr. Bonaventure, 1930), its Sisters' convent (Fr. Bonaventure, 1925), and three chapels of ease built by the Indians: Hikyivon, Guvo and San Rafael; Darby's (Shoma) With its chapel of Santa Co- leta for the Sand Papagos; Ajo, without chapel or school, but

whose Indian population at times mounts to 900 souls, mak-.

ing it the third largest Indian town in the United - States. The,

parish church is used for Papago services. Finally there is Gila . Bend- the first fruits among the Papagos in modern times. In- structions are given in the Government schools of Hikyion and Guvo, and for the public school Papagos of Ajo. In Sonora there are the missions of San Francisquito, Sonoita, and Quito- vac. The number of baptized souls is 1083. There are 469 catechumens, with 240 Montezumas and pagans still to be won over. With an amount of spiritual satisfaction, Father Bonaventure could announce to the Franciscan Education' Conference at Santa Barbara in August, 1936; "Where Father Garcés planned two missions, one at Santa Rosa and one at Sonoita, the (Fran- ciscan) Province of Santa Barbara can now point with pride to twenty churches, not counting smaller chapels, eight schools, 2,500 baptized neophytes and as many catechumens in the eleven Papago pueblos, north of the international boundary." St. Francis Mission, Whiteriver, Arizona San Carlos Mission, San Carlos, Arizona Apache Mission Chapel Trailer, Ceder Creek, Arizona THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 43 Franciscans Among the Apaches After the roving Apaches were located on reservations, Ger- man Lutherans sent missionaries among them in 1893. In 1918 the Catholic Indian Bureau took interest in the field. The Rev. William Ketcham toured the reservation and offered the field to the Franciscan Fathers of the Province of Santa Barbara who accepted it. The friars took over an area containing about 6,000 natives among whom there were but few churchgoers. The first Franciscan missionary in the field was Father Gerard Brenneke. This was in September, 1918. His first apostolic labors became fruitful during the influenza epidemic of that year, when he succeeded in baptizing a number of sick and dying Apaches. Father Gerard's first years among the Apaches at Rice, now known as San Carlos, were trying in the extreme. From every angle he had to start from the beginning. A place of worship had to be built, the confidence of the native had to be won. The language was not easy. Father Gerard slept in a tent under Apache skies, until his church and house were ready for use. The church and adjoining residence are monuments to his zeal and foresight. They are constructed of native tufa stone, the walls being one foot thick. It has a pleasing appearance. "This is a beautiful mission produced by the hand of unskilled labor, yet one that is a triumph of decorative skill," declared one writer. The new temple of God was finished by October, 1920 and was dedicated by Bishop Granjon of Tucson, May 22, 1922. By 1923, there were seventy-five baptisms recorded and thirty-seven catechumens. About 1922, another chapel, that of St. Victor, was built by Father Gerard at Bylas about forty-five miles east of San Carlos. It is a mission station regularly attended from San Carlos. Today the number of Indians on the San Carlos Reservation is about 2,900 of which some 250 are Catholics. The mission area covers 1,610,240 acres. The present missionary in charge is the Rev. Gabriel McCarthy, O.F.M. Other Franciscans who have labored in the field are Fathers Nicholas Perschl, Augus- tine Schwartz, Lucius Zittier, Ficlelis Voss, and Tiburtius Wand. A second mission center among the Apaches is to be found at Whiteriver and is dedicated to St. Francis. Its missionary ministers to the Apaches of the Ft. Apache Reservation. It is in the heart of the great American pine forest which echoed to the tread of Coronado's marching armies. Forbidding but mag- 44 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA

nificent mountains separate it from the San Carlos Reservation. Father Justin Deutsch is the pioneer Franciscan in this area. He entered upon his labors a few years after Father Gerard opened up the San Carlos Mission. Here likewise the church and residence are built of tufa stone and compare favorably with the San Carlos plant. It was built by Fr. Justin and completed by Father Augustine. It was dedicated in 1924 by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Daniel J. Gercke. A mission station in honor of St. Catherine was built at Cibecue by the late Father Fidelis Voss. Among other Franciscans who have labored at Whiteriver are Fathers Nicholas Perschl and Felix Pudlow- ski. The present missionary is Father Vincent Arbeiter, who spent his younger years among the Pimas. It would be a mistake to think that an active and zealous missionary such as Father Vincent is, has little to do except to await the call of a prospective convert. His territory comprises 1,639,000 acres and is about 120 miles in extent from east to west and about 100 miles from north to south. About 185 baptisms were administered up to 1935. In order to cover the territory better and to be able to say Mass in smaller districts where there were no chapels, Father Vincent built with his own hands a chapel trailer, which week after week rumbles through the yawning canyons and saluting cedars of the White Mountains, intent on its God-ordained mission. This trailer was solemnly blessed at Cedar Creek, Oc- tober 21, 1937, among the wickiups and the pines. On that same occasion, twenty-three Apache children and ten adults were baptized, among them being Chief Joseph Altalah and his wife. Father Vincent's schedule has a true missionary ring. From Whiteriver, he attends the Government Day and Boarding School and Hospital at IAThiteriver; Ft. Apache Hospital and Government Boarding School at Ft. Apache, five miles away; McNary, twenty-three miles to the northeast; Cibecue, fifty miles away; the church and day school at Cedar Creek, seventy- five miles west of Whiteriver, and the Canyon day school. Through the snow of winter as well as through the pleasant upland summers he says Holy Mass each Sunday at Ft. Apache, at 8, at Whiteriver at 9, and at McNary at 11:15 o'clock. The other missions are visited during the week. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 45

Franciscans Among the Yumas Only a river divides the commonwealths of Arizona and California. In its physical aspects, southeastern California is one with its neighbor state. The desert pushes on almost to the very gates of the Pacific. Here too, across the Colorado, the Indian is still in prominence. And missionary work carried on among the Yumas is considered by the Franciscans as part of the Ari- zona missionary field. We have seen how Fray Francisco Garcés and his companions watered the banks of the Colorado with their life blood. We have seen, too, that that was the end of missionary enterprise among the Yurnas in colonial times. Already in the middle of the 19th century the United States Government erected a

military post on the site of the Old . Mission Concepción, today known as Ft. Yuma, California. In 1884, the military buildings were transferred to the Department of the Interior, to be used in the interests of Indian education. The educational attempt was unsuccessful and after two years the Commissioner of In- dian Affairs committed the school to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet. Father Zephyrin Engelhardt until then a successful missionary among the Menomonee Indians came to the scene. He was the first Franciscan to come to the arena of Garcés' labors since the massacre on the Colorado. During his sojourn he endeavored to obtain an authentic account of the missionaries' death from the Indians themselves and col- lected a small vocabulary of Yuman words. The sisters' work was successful and the seed of religion was planted again. Fr. Zephyrin was called away to another field. The Sisters remained until 1900. The parish priest of Yuma, Arizona, meanwhile extended his solicitude across the Colorado. His task was passed on to the Fathers of the Immaculate Heart when they assumed the responsibilities of the parish in Yuma. However in 1919, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Santa Barbara was requested to take over the field. The Franciscans came. Father Tiburtius Wand, one of the pioneer Papago missionaries came upon the scene. The beautiful church, known as St. Thomas Mission, gracing the heights of Ft. Yuma, built in Spanish mission style, is a monument to his zeal and interest. He had found a shed for a church; living quarters were non-existent. Superintendent Charles Odle gra- ciously provided Fr. Tiburtius with accommodations until the 46 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA new friary should be built. On Sunday, February 25, 1923, the church was dedicated by His Excellency, Bishop Cantwell of Los Angeles. The dream of Padre Garcés had been realized and the providential ones to fulfill that dream were the successors of the gray-robes of yesterday. With a lighter heart Father Tiburtius could write: "Until now our church has been a barn and the priest's residence a hut. Yet this is in Yuma where the thermometer from June until October is hardly ever below 105°. Thanks to the generosity of the Rt. Reverend Bishop of Los Angeles, the Catholic Indian Bureau, the Marquette League of New York and private benefactors, there has been completed a nice church and a residence for a priest." On May 23, 1927, a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, which had been constructed by the Franciscan Brother Wendel, out of petrified wood from the forests of Arizona, was dedicated. One touch after another was added to the place, to make of it, in reality a Catholic center for the Yuma Indians. During the administration of Father Nicholas Perschl, there rose on the heights of Government Hill, before the Mission Church, the beautifully sculptured statue of Fray Francisco Garcés holding a large cross, while a Yuma Indian kneels before him to hear the significant story of the Cross of Christ. Petrified wood from the Castle Dome district of Arizona flanks the base. The statue is the work of a German artist, Herr Fleck, and its donor was Charles D. Baker, a resident of Yuma. The statue was unveiled and blessed by Bishop Cantwell of Los Angeles, October 21, 1928. Present were prominent personages in religious and civic life, among them Bishop Navarrete of Sonora, Dr. Lockwood of the University of Arizona, the mayor of Yuma and others. About two thousand people were in attendance. In 1931 the field of Ft. Yuma was relinquished by the Fran- ciscans. However in 1934 they were recalled to the former scenes of their labors. Father Felix Pudlowski became the missionary in charge and has developed the large and difficult mission area along many lines. His first task was to repair buildings. He next took a census, not only of the reservation, but of the entire area committed to him, and this extends indefi- nitely over the Mojave Desert. He found there were 275 Catho- lic Indians or catechumens, 278 Mexicans in outlying stations, and 78 whites scattered throughout the district. Arrangements were made with the Indian school authorities for catechetical instructions with the result that more than a third of the children there enrolled, attended these classes in Christian doctrine. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 47

Similar classes were started and divine service was held at Andrade, Bard, and Ogilvy for Mexicans. Other out of the way places were likewise visited. The most recent developments in the Yuma area have been thé purchase of a chapel trailer and erection of a large hall for the young Indians. The chapel trailer, the first in southern California, and dedicated to St. Francis, is a gift of His Excel- lency, the Most Rev. Charles Francis Buddy, of San Diego, in whose diocese Ft. Yuma is now located. The mobile chapel is especially practical since the Indians move about and thus the priest can better reach them and it dispenses with the necessity of erecting chapels of ease. The vehicle is equipped with an altar, a baptismal font, an ,organ, loud-speaking system and electric lights. .Finally Father Felix commenced to construct a large hall to be used fOr social, recreational, and catechetical purposes. :Ellis again has been made possible through the kindly donation of Bishop Buddy. The hall has a concrete foundation and is built of adobe. Its dimensions are 106x56 feet. With the church and the hall, Father Felix hopes to implant more deeply the Faith in the hearts of the children. This was the way, too, that Father Garcés followed. Still further toward the coast, are the missionary activities of Franciscan missionaries in Arizona complemented. At Ban- ning, California, at the mouth of the San Gorgonio Pass, is located St. Boniface Indian School under the direction of Father Gerard Brenneke, who has devoted many years of his priestly life to the evangelization of the Pimas, Papagos, and Apaches of Arizona. This school goes back to the year 1890, and was developed by the zealous Father B. Florian Hahn, C.PP.S. It was at Bannng Indian School that the famous missionary book Soldiers of the Cross, by Archbishop Salpointe was printed. From Banning, the descendants of the Indians converted by the early Padres of California were visited as far south as Pala

and as far east as the Colorado. Father Hahn Periodically- visited the Colorado Indians and baptized a number of them, some of them at a very advanced age. The baptismal records of Banning show that some Colorado Desert Indians were baptized who had been born within a generation or two after the death of Garcés. For many years, the school and the many missions attended from it were taken care of by secular priests of the Diocese of Los Angeles but in 1918 Bishop Cantwell offered it to the Fran- St. Bonifacc Indian School, Banning, Calif ornEi St. Thomas Indian Mission and Garces Statue, Ft. Yuma, California Day of Dedication (October 21, 1928) THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 49 ciscan Fathers of the Province. of Santa Barbara. The first director was Father Philemon Toepfer, to be followed by Father Justin Deutsch, veteran Arizona missionary, at whose death, Father Gerard, the present director succeeded. Not only does St. Boniface School provide for the spiritual and material wel- fare of the descendants of the Indians of the California padres but also a number of Indian children from the various reservations of Arizona. This chapter cannot be concluded without a word concerning the placement of Indian girls from Arizona in the homes of American families in and about metropolitan Los Angeles. This service was inaugurated in recent years so as to enable capable Indian girls to secure employment as domestic servants and to come into contact with the cultural surroundings of modern American and solidly Catholic homes. These girls live with the families with whom they work, receive their board, lodging and medical care and a reasonable salary. Their religious and moral life is safeguarded by the picked families with whom they reside. A social and recreational hall has been built in Los Angeles where these girls convene once a month, while a party is held for the entire group during the Christmas sea- son. This work is under the personal supervision of Mrs. Mc- Grath; a sister of Father Albert Braun, 0.F.M., missionary in charge of the Apache Reservation, Mescalero, New Mexico.

Franciscans Among the Navajos It is recorded that in 1629, Father Benavides, a Franciscan, established a mission at Santa Clara, New Mexico, whence he hoped to penetrate the great Navajo country of northeastern Arizona; however, the zealous missionary's plans did not. develop. Not until modern times did the Navajos come under the direct influence of the Church. The Vicar-apostolic of Arizona, the Most Rev. J. B. Salpointe met members of the Navajo tribe in 1877, but owing to a drought, missions could not be established among them at the time. Later in the century, the Navajos themselves appealed to Monsignor Stephan, Director of the Catholic Indian Bureau, for missionaries. Monsignor Stephan approached the Franciscan Fathers of the Province of St. John the Baptist, with headquarters at Cincinnati, Ohio. These fathers gladly accepted the

50 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIOZNA field and in the Provincial Chapter of July 26, 1898, Fathers Juvenal Schnorbus and Anselm Weber, together with Brother Placidus Buerger, were appointed to commence the work of evangelization. This pioneer band arrived at St. Michaels, Ari- zona, October 7, 1898, and the first Holy Mass in the new mission field was celebrated on October 11th. The Franciscan fathers came into an extensive, populous, and hitherto uncultivated domain. Their happy hunting ground for their spiritual conquest comprised about 16,200,000 acres or about 25,000 square miles mostly in northeastern Arizona but which extended also into New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. The tribe at the time had at least 20,000 souls. They were pagan, even without many rudimentary religious concepts common to other tribes. They were nomadic in their - habits; villages were non-existent; their language was an unusual one, with sounds foreign to any other. h had never been committed to writing. The fathers faced their new field of labor with stout hearts and determined wills. The missionaries made long and arduous trips to become acquainted with the people, to win their affection, to learn their language, to study the ter- rain, and to select future mission sites. Through the good offices of interpreters and friends, the fathers obtained a thorough grasp of the language without which their best efforts would have remained sterile. Within ten years they were publishing scientific works, the only ones in existence, recognized today as monumental and unique. But this phase of their labor requires special consideration and so we leave it until the end of the chapter. Father Anselm was the dominant character of this early period and he justly deserves the title "Apostle of the Nava- jos." He was a great missionary and linguist. He protected the Indians against white encroachment, and obtained for the Navajos, through his influence in Washington, more grazing lands for Navajo sheep, the Indians' only source of livelihood. Many interesting stories are told of Father Anselm, and these form a veritable story of romance. We look forward to the day when the biography of this modern spiritual pioneer will be the common property of all Americans. Today, as well as from the very beginning, St. Michaels in Apache County, Arizona, is the center of the Franciscan work among the Navajos. In 1902 a large school was built through the generosity of Mother Catherine Drexel, foundress FRANCISCAN MISSIONS AMONG THE NAVAJOS The Original Navajo Mission Center, St. Michaels, Arifona Modern Mission Church at St. Michaels, Dedicated October 28. 1936 52 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIOZNA of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Anselm became another "Padre on Horseback" making the rounds of the reservation urging the parents to send their children to the new institution. Classes began December 3, 1902, with fifty-one In- dians in attendance. Soon chapels, substantial churches and schools began to dot the vast expanses of Navajo Land under the energetic and continuous supervision of the friars. From St. Michaels, the fathers gave instructions- at Fort Defiance, eight miles north of their center. A. spacious chapel was built there in 1915. When a Government school was about to be erected at Chin Lee, 60 miles northwest of St. Michaels, a residence and ohureh were established there. From Chin Lee, the friars visited Lukachukai, 32 miles northeast and in 1912, built a church there. After 1928, this latter mission became a center, while a school and medical dispensary were added. After 1915, a chapel was built at Tohatchi, New Mexico, 35 miles east of St. Michaels. In 1927 a large church and mission was built at Kearns Canyon more than 80 miles west of St. Michaels. Another rose at Manuelito, New Mexico, 20 miles south of St. Michaels. In 1928 a chapel was built at Houck, Arizona, 40 miles southwest of St. Michaels; another at Hunters Point, 5 miles south, still another at Greasewood, 60 miles southeast of St. Michaels. The chapel at Fort Wingate was dedicated in 1937. Striking out still further, the padres built a chapel at Shiprock, New Mexico, in the northeastern section of the reservation. Between 1902 and 1928 remarkable progress was also made in Catholic education. It will be remembered that in 1902 St. Michaels opened with 51 children. In 1928 it had 295 children. At Ft. Defiance there were 350 Catholic children out of an enrollment of 450; Ft. Wingate had 210 out of 500; Chin Lee, 146 out of 160; Kearns Canyon, 120 out of 150; and Tohatchi, 112 out of 217. These figures did not include the Catholic Nava- jos attending Government schools in other states of the Union. In 1928 there were about 4,000 Catholic Navajos all told. To- day, there are approximately 6,200 baptized Navajos, out of a population of an estimated 50,000. In the Catholic and Gov- ernment schools combined there are about 2,000 children re- ceiving religious instructions. . The difficulties under which these missionaries labored can best be gleaned from a letter of Father Anselm written in 1913: THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 53

"To civilize and Christianize a nomadic people is obviously a difficult task. Scarcity of water and the general topography of the country which is fit for grazing purposes only, force the Navajos to live scattered, so that, excepting some favored lo- calities, one seldom sees two Navajo huts within hailing distance of each other." The Navajo territory covers parts of Coconimo, Navajo, and Apache Counties in Arizona, parts of McKinley and San Juan Counties in New Mexico, the southern part of San Juan County in Utah, an area larger than the total area of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. It is the largest Indian reservation within the United States and the Navajos are the most numerous among the Indian tribes of the United

States. They number close to 50,000 and are steadily. increasing. To give some idea of the range of missionary activity, the mission at Kearns Canyon extends north to the State of Utah, west to the Grand Canyon. It is 76 miles north of Holbrook, the nearest American parish. The Navajos live in primitively constructed hogans, circular in shape, of stone and log construction. Special emphasis must be placed upon the practical and scientific work of the Franciscans among the Navajos in the matter of linguistics and ethnology. As Father Anselm Weber is justly styled "The Apostle of the Navajos," so Father Berard Haile, wiih all credit has been called "The Scholar of the Navajos." Already in 1900 he joined the pioneers in the Navajo mission field and became a hard working missionary. Immediately he set to work gathering material for an Ethnological Dictionary. In collaboration with other fathers he succeeded in obtaining sufficient material for a 500 page book which was printed by the fathers themselves at St. Michaels in 1908. In 1909 together with Father Anselm, he published 5,000 copies of a 72 page Navajo Catechism. This was followed in 1912 by 300 copies of a 220 page English-Navajo Dictionary. After living nearly twelve years at Lukachukai, 80 miles from a railroad, mingling constantly with the Indians, he organized the material for writing a Navajo Grammar. In 1926, 1,000 copies of this monumental work were published. Scholars have pronounced it the "most stupendous work of the century on primitive language." In 1927 appeared the Catechism and Guide in Navajo and finally in 1938 the Origin Legend of the Navajo Enemy Way, comprising text and translation. Its 320 pages were printed by the Yale University Press. 54 THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIOZNA

Father Berard has been given the opportunity of university education as well. During the scholastic year 1928-1929 he attended the anthropology classes of Dr. Cooper at the Catholic University at Washington, D. C., during which he wrote his dissertation on "Property Concepts among the Navajo." He likewise spent a year at the University of Vienna. Frequently he has been called upon to address learned societies such as the Association of Americanists„krithropological Societies and others. He is also associated with university groups in doing field work in anthropology. The complete list of Navajo Missions (1939) is as follows: Chin Lee, Apache County, Arizona. Annunciation Church. Resident Pastor. Government Boarding School. Missions: Naazlini, Black Mountain, Salina Springs, Rough Rock, Chilchinbito. Houck, Arizona. Tegakwitka Mission. Catholic Indian Day School. Resident Priest. Missions: Manuelito, New Mexico; Pine Springs, Arizona. Keams Canyon, Arizona. St. Joseph's Mission. Resident Priest. Government Boarding School. Missions: Pifion, Steamboat Canyon, White Cone. Lukachukai, Arizona. St. Isabel's Mission. Resident Priest. Government Day School. Missions: Round Rock, Tsehili, Rock Point, Wheatfields. Shiprock, New Mexico. Mission of Christ the King. Two Resi- dent Priests. Government Boarding School. Missions: Redrock, Sweetwater, Dinehotso, Cove, Arizona; Sanastee, Nava, Toadlena, New Mexico. Tohatchi, New Mexico. Immaculate Conception Church. Resi- dent Priest. Government Boarding School. Missions: Naschiti, Mexican Springs, Coyote Canyon, Twin Lakes, Sheep Springs, all in New Mexico. St. Michaels, Arizona. Mary, Mother of Mankind Church. Seven Resident Priests. St. Michael's Sisters Boarding School. Missions: Fort Defiance, (Government Boarding School), Wide Ruins, Sawmill, Klagetoh, Hunters Point, Cornfields, Kinlichee, Greasewood Springs, Arizona; Crystal, New Mex- ico, all having Government Day Schools; Oak Springs Ari- zona, (No School). The missions at Ft. Defiance, Hunters Point, Klagetoh, Greasewood Springs, Pifion, Manuelito, and Naschiti have chapels. THE KINGDOM OF ST. FRANCIS IN ARIZONA 55

It might be well for clearness' sake to recapitulate concerning the personnel of the various Mission fields. The Navajo Indian field is manned by the Franciscan Fathers of the Province of St. John the Baptist whose headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Apache, Yuma, Pima, and Papago fields are in charge of the Franciscan Fathers of the Province of Santa Barbara, whose headquarters are in Oakland, California. At the present time two Fathers of the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart whose headquarters are in St. Louis, Missouri, are also laboring in the Pima and Papago fields. Moreover prior to November 7, 1915, the Franciscans working among the Papago and Pima fields belonged to the Province of the Sacred Heart for it was only in the above-mentioned year that the Province of Santa Barbara attained the juridical status of an independent province. « » » Conclusion The foregoing sketch, however brief and devoid of interesting details, serves to show the interests and accomplishments of the Franciscans in the spiritual and cultural development of Arizona through a span of four hundred years. Among them we have found apostles and scholars, mission builders and parish organizers. In the Indian field in particular both Church and State owe these valiant men an eternal debt of gratitude. With them they have brought the fine missionary traditions of their Order, hailing from the very days of St. Francis himself. They have brought with them their talents, their resources, their zeal and their energy. They have brought themselves, of- ferings on the table of sacrifice for the salvation of souls and the extension of the kingdom of God. Well have they merited the praise given them by Bishop Granjon: "These religious have certainly proved, of all religious congregations, the most zealous, and at the same time, the most efficient in this special line of work." May their zeal continue and may their labors be ever fruitful.